Publisher's Synopsis
Port Valdez, a fjord within Prince William Sound, Alaska, is the site of a major facility where petroleum from the trans-Alaska pipeline is transferred to large tankers. As such, Port Valdez offered a unique opportunity for a case study on the ability of present technology to detect significant ecosystem changes in a pristine oceanographic environment that was being subjected to a known level of disturbance, in this case the discharge of hydrocarbons. This volume presents an integrated review and analysis of a 15 year study on Port Valdez, covering such topics as - regional water movement and meteorology - sediments and trace elements - plankton - fisheries resources - intertidal biology - subtidal benthos - regulatory objectives. This volume will be of particular interest to marine biologists, oceanographers, ecologists, environmental managers and others dealing with the study and regulation of pollution in coastal environments.
